SPOTLIGHT ON THE WELLNESS TEAM

Leading important conversations about how we meet the needs of our students.

We sat down with our Wellness Team to get their perspective on the health and wellness landscape, both how it is changing and what is ahead for mental health clinicians in the coming years.

Dr. Beth Meister, Director of Counseling Services School Counselor (PK-8)

Licensed Psychologist EDD from Boston University MED from Tufts University BS from Cornell University

Training & Prior Experience

Hall Mercer Children’s Center, McLean Hospital, Psychologist; Harvard/McLean joint appointee; Instructor, Harvard Medical School; Brookline Public Schools, doctoral research; Private psychotherapy practice, Belmont and Winchester; Harvard Business School, assistant instructor in self-assessment; Longterm member of Boston Marathon medical team; Masters rower, Head of the Charles Regatta

“It has been my pleasure to be Brimmer’s Dr Beth over the past 38 years. I have a strong background and interest in developmental psychology and try to view our students from that perspective. I believe we need to keep in mind children’s individual developmental levels, which vary from child to child, in order to personalize academic, social, and personal goals. I join Brimmer teachers and administrators in our carefully thought through plans to honor students’ strengths, while supporting individual areas of challenge. True equity in education requires the unique needs of each child to be recognized and addressed, for example, feeling accepted and included in the peer group, feeling one’s personal abilities and interests are valued, wanting to have opportunities for leadership, needing specialized help with academics, and more. I like to approach my work at school with humor, kindness, patience, and appreciation of how even young children view their world, whether I am meeting with an individual, a group, or a classroom. Growth Education is the Middle School weekly Wellness class I have taught over the years, and it has been a great venue for teaching relevant skills such as managing stress, expressing opinions, goal setting, strategies for managing relationships and feelings, and others. Recently, I enjoyed outdoor talks/walks with some of our younger students, meeting with small groups to talk about the concepts of planning, inclusiveness, empathy, and taking the high road in friendships, and partnering with Middle Schoolers to complete and hand in work. Research has indicated that social-emotional learning considerably enhances academic performance. I will continue to help our students attain high levels of positivity, resilience, self-awareness, patience, and empathy for others as they strive for academic success each day.”

Emily Luckett, Upper School Counselor

Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) MSW from Smith College BA from Brandeis University

Training & Prior Experience

Beth Israel Medical Center Outpatient Psychiatric Department; Beth Israel; Emergency Room; Boston Rape Crisis Center; Jacobi Hospital in New York.; Boston Children’s Hospital Psychiatric Inpatient Unit; Boston Children’s Hospital Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic; Judge Baker Children’s Center; Boston Medical Center Psychiatry Department; Roxbury Children’s Services (family therapy); The Boston Ballet (mental health consultant)

“I have been Brimmer’s Upper School Counselor for the past 30 years, and it has been an extremely rewarding experience working with such a diverse, intelligent, and insightful school community. The pandemic demonstrated to mental health clinicians that helping folks develop strategies for resilience is more vital than ever. I have seen an increase in adolescent stress, anxiety, self-injurious behaviors, and depression, even prior to COVID, due in part to the role social media plays in the lives of young people, and the loneliness and isolation it can create. The pressures that young people face today present challenges that require an internal resilience that many struggle to maintain. The key is to develop social and emotional competence. This ability to know one’s self includes understanding one’s emotions and the emotions of others; learning to regulate emotions and deal with trauma; developing flexibility in thought and behavior; developing empathy for others; and managing relationships. Developing these over time is essential to coping with the ups and downs of life and maintaining overall good mental health. In particular, these four sets of skills have proven to be extremely helpful, not just for teens, but for everyone. They include mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. However, if a student is in need of more specific intervention, I am available to meet with them individually to process these skill sets.”

The pressures that young people face today present challenges that require an internal resilience that many struggle to maintain. The key is to develop social and emotional competence.

Beth Escobar, Director of School Health Services

Boston University: BSN in Nursing, MSN in Psychiatric Consultation-Liaison Nursing; Northeastern University: Certified in Advanced School Nursing; Certified Sexuality Educator; Certified in Mental Health First Aid for Youth

Training & Prior Experience

Private psychiatric hospitals; McLean Hospital (adolescent to geriatric population); Children’s Hospital (treating eating disorders and abuse); Beth Israel Hospital (teaching fellow nurses); School Nurse for Framingham Public Schools; Member: ANA (American Nurses Association), MNA (Massachusetts Nurses Association), MSNO (Massachusetts School Nurse Organization), ISNG (Independent School Nurses Group)

“I’ve been at Brimmer since 2010, and I consider it home. After this history-making, COVID-19 year, I see a new appreciationfor the role of the school nurse. We became frontline workers in the public health arena, attending to students’ and families’requests for help navigating the physical, social, and emotional needs of the individual, the family, and the School community atlarge. It was important for me to educate myself every chance I got as the needs were so great this past year. Last summer I took a course on contact tracing throughJohns Hopkins University and thatprepared me for a year of weekly,on-site PCR testing. I collaboratedwith our local Boards of Health on aregular basis and learned a great dealfrom those experiences. Most helpfulto me has been participating inBrimmer’s COVID Response Team(CRT), a mixed group of faculty andstaff that meets weekly to keep our fingers on the pulse of what’s going on in our community, state, region, country, and world as wevisualize how to keep Brimmer open, safe, and healthy. I could not have done my job without their ongoing support. I will continueto monitor all things COVID-related during the 2021-2022 academic year while working to enrich the health and wellness offeringsat Brimmer. The pandemic has reinforced how important the total person is in the equation. Our minds and bodies are connected and so interrelated that if one doesn’t find a comfortable balance, it can be difficult to get things done.Being a psychiatric nurse, I have always looked at the big picture while dealing with the little details. One can’t lose sight of the other.

’’During the pandemic, school nurses became frontline workers in the public health arena, attending to both students’ and families’ requests for help navigating their physical, social, and emotional needs…

This past year has made people aware of the need to talk about health and wellness ina way that removes the stigma of mental health. School nurses have been dealing withhow to provide accurate information to our students and families about mental health,as well as how to access mental health care outside of School while using learnedstrategies during the school day. Every year I meet with our students to remind themthat the school nurse is always a resource for them. They don’t need to be bleeding tocome see me.”